


Timestamp 12:01am

by shadowfaerieammy



Series: Timestamp [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: ALL THE ANGST, Angst, F/M, sad Chat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-14
Updated: 2016-03-14
Packaged: 2018-05-26 18:57:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6251677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowfaerieammy/pseuds/shadowfaerieammy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chat doesn't tell ladybug why he's late to patrol and Ladybug doesn't ask. When he cries on her shoulder, she doesn't ask. When he makes a peculiar request, she doesn't ask. She trusts her partner enough to know that there is no use in asking why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Timestamp 12:01am

10:10pm: Ladybug wonders why Chat is late for patrol.

10:30pm Ladybug starts to worry because Chat does not answer her calls.

11:00pm Fear sinks into her bones. Chat has never been this late before. What if something horrible happened to him? They only know one-another in their masks so she has no way to find him.

11:30pm Marinette decides to patrol on her own. She can only wait for so long and Chat Noir can call her if he needs to find her.

11:43pm He calls.  
Ladybug stares at the screen, caught between anger and worry. Worry wins.  
“Chat! Are you okay?”  
“I’m fine, my lady.” Ladybug can’t see the crease in Chat’s brow, the smile stretched thin on his lips, the little details that prove he is most definitely not fine. She can’t see how much pain he’s in. “Can I ask you a favor?”  
Ladybug sighs but agrees. Chat would never disappear like this without good reason and she won’t push him to tell her. She trusts him.  
“Can you meet me at the Eiffel Tower at midnight? I’ll explain there.”  
“Sure, Chat.”

11:44pm The call ends.

11:58 Ladybug arrives at the tower.  
Chat sits at the top, back flush against the wall and knees held close to his chest.  
“Chat?” Ladybug approaches him tentatively, as she would a skittish stray.  
The hero’s feline ears perk but he doesn’t move. “Hello, my lady,” he says, his voice small and shaky.  
The darkness of the Parisian night obscures Marinette’s vision so she isn’t positive but she thinks she sees Chat shaking. When she sits next to him, shoulder to shoulder, her suspicion is proven.

12:01am Ladybug wraps her arms tightly around Chat Noir, murmuring, “it’s okay, I’m here.”  
Chat believes her.  
It doesn’t surprise Marinette when she feels droplets of water soak into her suit.  
It does surprise her when Chat pulls away, hands still shaking.  
“I’m going to ask you a favor, please don’t be mad.” His lips quiver violently around his words . “Stay with me till 6am, that’s all I ask.”  
Ladybug can hardly believe his words. He knows how she feels about spending unnecessary time together. “But Chat-”  
“Please, Ladybug,” he says in a burst of desperation. “Just for today. Please.”  
Desperation is clear in each and every of his features. His strained voice, quivering lips, green eyes rimmed with tears. Ladybug can’t imagine what could have driven the bright and cheerful Chat Noir this far off the edge of ‘okay.’  
“Okay.”  
They sit there while Chat gains his composure and the use of his numb legs. They bound over rooftops to the park, the school, wherever their feet guide them. Ladybug lets Chat hold her hand, hug her, nuzzle his face in her hair to hide his tears. She asks no questions. Nearly six hours are spent in companionable silence.

5:57am It is time to say their goodbyes. Chat Noir clearly isn’t ready to part ways but he knows he must.  
“Goodbye, my lady,” he mutters against Ladybug’s glove as he kisses her hand.  
“I’ll see you soon, kitty.”  
Chat almost laughs; she doesn’t understand.

9:13am Class is in session and Adrien has yet to arrive.

12:23pm During lunch break Alya shows Marinette the freshly posted article about Adrien’s sudden and permanent move to the United States.

10:12pm Chat is late for patrol again.

12:00am After waiting for two hours and getting no response to her calls, Ladybug realizes why.

12:01am Tears well up in her eyes.  
12:01am Sobs bubble in her throat.  
12:01am She explodes, damning all the good luck in her earrings for letting her partner leave.


End file.
